South Asians: Destined to be Underprivileged

Majyd Aziz

“To me, a world without poverty means that every person would have the ability to take care of his or her own basic life needs. In such a world, nobody would die of hunger or suffer from malnutrition. This is the goal world leaders have been calling for, for decades, but have never set out any way of achieving it.” Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, in his autobiography “Banker to the Poor”, a copy that he signed for this writer in Karachi in December 2009.

The idealistic belief of the Bangladeshi icon reflects the established opinion that an improved, committed and comprehensive poverty reduction strategy needs to be orchestrated to progress towards achieving this objective. The political and military hierarchies of the eight South Asian nations have to come out of their self-built rabbit holes and realize the impact that deprivation, abandonment and marginalization have had on a very large segment among the denizens. If compared to regional blocs, such as ASEAN, NAFTA, EU or even MERCOSUR, the situation of SAARC is akin to a ramshackle shanty while these other blocs portray a palatial edifice, with well-manicured gardens, ebullient lighting, and residents having rosy cheeks.

The aim here is not to denigrate or belittle a region having 1.60 billion people but to highlight the glaring shortcomings and lack of opportunities that this population bulge suffers from. Income-based poverty alone is not the sole criterion to evaluate the multidimensional magnitude of poverty. Poverty has many facets that are recognized as essential components encompassing many structures of human insufficiencies. The fundamental right of each person is to have access to universal education, livable residential facility, basic health services, safe drinking water, sanitation, fair and fast justice, and even a constitutionally defined right of enfranchisement. This then is where three significant points should be discussed:

1. Despite the large population of poor in South Asia, the expenditure on development in the region continues to be very low.

Economic development is imperative for achieving any country’s objectives of equality and participation in the comity of nations, for building up a formidable military force, for the health and welfare of the citizens, for a workable and competent authority in the affairs of the country,  and for the preservation of national, cultural and ethnic history and traditions. South Asian nations have suffered the ignominy of being in the center of external and domestic conflicts, whether hard-core secessionism or extremism, or bitter political polarization that often transcended all civil and social norms, or even the loss of people’s faith in government as a whole over the last many decades.

SAARC countries today have surely achieved new heights of prosperity that is apparent in the collective sense but the underlying discontentment among the populace is that the benefits of the formation of SAARC or attaining a democratic political dispensation or becoming stronger economic entities or attracting global attention have not trickled down to the masses. This growing feeling of lack of care and outright neglect has not abated.

A disturbing point lies in the procedure that allows elected representatives to obtain maximum political advantage through lobbying for what are usually referred to as pork-barrel projects. The mantra of you scratch my back, I scratch yours has been institutionalized in developing countries too and this has ensued into a haphazard and injudicious resource allocation. Ergo, developments in certain areas get precedence over the legitimate rights of areas or constituencies that are not in the good books of the ruling clique.

2. SAARC countries spend the bulk of their budgets on purchasing weapons. They are poor but their military spending is much more than that of developed countries.

A potent, well-trained, and fully-equipped military establishment is always a nation’s pride. It is imperative that national security is not sacrificed or put at risk just because there is rhetorical opposition from various sectors. Take Pakistan for example. Notwithstanding the periodic imposition of a military-led government, the influence and authority of the military establishment has always remained paramount. International events and dependence on external largesse and financial support brought Pakistan in the frontline of war against terror on the western borders even when the volatile eastern border involved the deployment of substantial troops.

However, it is sensible for countries to determine what should be the equitable allocation for defence spending. It should be determined, in existing circumstances of each country, the optimum amount of military expenditure that will not destabilize the foundations of economic growth and put at risk the prospects of raising the living standards of its population. Conventional wisdom dictates that there must be the right mix of economic and military spending when formulating the national budget. The decision makers have to be on the level when determining between high priorities of military requirements and longer term economic security. This is a vivid message for policymakers in SAARC capitals to absorb

The time now is for SAARC political and military hierarchies to stop playing the Curzonian "Great Games" in the region and instead focus on bonding regional and economic cooperation. George Curzon was Viceroy of India two centuries ago. The SAARC denizens want deliverance from the economic malaise and despondency. A glance at the population and military spending of SAARC countries points out the awesome allocation for defence.

Country	Population (Millions) 2012	Defence Allocation (US$ Billions)
Afghanistan	30.00	11.500
Bangladesh	155.00	1.600
Bhutan	0.75	0.014
India	1237.00	46.000
Maldives	0.35	0.045
Nepal	27.00	0.210
Pakistan	180.00	7.000
Sri Lanka	21.00	1.500
Total	1652.10	67.869

 

3. What are civil society organizations, social movements and people’s networks doing to fight the structural causes of poverty and social injustices in the region and beyond?

The altruism of a large number of socially-oriented organizations in SAARC, working for the overall good of the region, has been recognized as achievements of a non-official Track II initiative. However, most of the NGOs are exclusive to their own countries and spearhead projects with resources from domestic support or through grants from international organizations. Primarily, these NGOs endeavor to offer pro-poor projects that are targeted to defined sectors or groups. SAARC can boast of the splendid work being done by Edhi Foundation of Pakistan, Indian Council for Social Welfare, BRAC of Bangladesh, Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka, Rural Women's Network Nepal (RUWON Nepal), Tarayana Foundation in Bhutan, or Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan (WADAN) to name a few. 

The fact is that mainly due to the abdication of responsibilities by the governments, either through bureaucratic or political compulsions, or either through misallocation of financial resources, or even through lack of concern by the decision makers, the onus has been put in the courts of dedicated NGOs to take up the mantle. This is the unfortunate negative and incomprehensible aspect of any country’s governance. Decades of bombastic rhetoric, corruption, and ill-conceived policies and schemes have played havoc with the destiny of the SAARC population. 

It is obligatory upon the governments to prioritize their policies for the poor. The yoke of poverty can best be removed through a concerted undertaking by all stakeholders. This is where the NGOs become the game changers. This is where civil society can have a deciding and powerful voice. This is where a radical shift is achieved in the quality of life of the citizens. This connection is still missing due to vested interests and diversity of views. 

In a nutshell, the poverty reduction strategy should be pro-poor in its most profound sense and should be designed to provide a sustained economic growth, availability and affordability of social infrastructure, a transparent social safety net mechanism, and enabling the capacity building and empowerment of all income groups and segments of society. There is no need for a foreign-prepared recipe. All elements of the strategy should be indigenous and must be owned and accepted by everyone.

A poignant message for all political leaders is the declaration of Caliph Omar that “if a dog dies hungry on the banks of the River Euphrates, Omar will be responsible for dereliction of duty.” Alas, this is 2014 and the SAARC political leadership leaves much to be desired.